Ear protector



Oct. 30, 1956 K. B. CRANE ET AL 2,768,384

EAR PROTECTOR Filed May 27, 1954 Kathryn 8. Crane Edgar M. Crane Berry 5. Ora/re Jul/an D. Drake EAR PROTECTOR Kathryn B. Crane, Edgar M. Crane, Betty S. Drake, and Julian D. Drake, Yazoo City, Miss.

Application May 27, 1954, Serial No. 432,836

1 Claim. (Cl. 2-174y This invention relates to an ear protector and more specifically provides a sanitary, disposable ear protector for use by beauticians.

Normally, it is the practice of beauticians, following shampoos, to dry the wet hair through the use of a suitable dryer. These dryers are usually constructed so as to provide a blast of heated air onto the hair for quicker drying. Usually, some type of ear protector is positioned over the ear after the hair net has been placed over the hair for protecting the ear from the blast of hot air. It is common practice among beauticians to reuse this ear protector and the unsanitary conditions caused by this re-use are undesirable. Therefore, it is the primary object of the present invention to provide the beautician trade with a sanitary, disposable, inexpensive, and easily adjustable ear protector of a material which will provide insulation from the heat at such a small cost that re-use of the protector will be impractical.

Another object of this invention is to provide an ear protector that may be constructed of cellular fibrous material or other suitable flufied materials having the necessary qualities of insulation and small cost necessary for a device of this type.

These, together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout and in which:

Figure l is a perspective view showing the ear protector of the present invention in position on the ear with a hair net placed thereover for drying of the hair;

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken substantially along section line 22 of Figure 1 showing the relationship between the components of the ear protector and the wearers ear;

Figure 3 is a top plan view showing the ear protector of the present invention prior to its installation on the Wearers ear; and

Figure 4 is an end view showing the relationship of the component parts of the ear protector when in its folded or installed position.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, it will be seen that the numeral generally designates the ear protector of thepresent invention for positioning over the ear 12 on the head 14 of a person having her hair dried. Normally a hair net 16 is positioned over the hair for retaining the hair in desired position while drying and also is positioned over the ear protector 10 for assisting the ear 12 in retaining the ear protector 10 in position.

The ear protector 10 includes the main body portion 2,7 68,384 Patented Oct. 30, 1956 18 which is a sheetof material of substantially circular form with a tab 20 secured at one point on the circumference of the sheet of material 18. A scored fold line 22 is positioned between the tab 20 and the sheet of material 13 wherein the tab 20 may be bent or folded in either direction about the fold line 22. One longitudinal edge of the tab 2% is generally concave as indicated by the numeral 24 and the other longitudinal edge is generally convex as indicated by the numeral 26. The tab 2%) is also provided with an outer edge 28 which lies substantially perpendicular to the edges 24 and 26. As shown in Figure 4, the tab 20 is reversely bent as indicated by the numeral 31) which is substantially along the scored fold line into a parallel position in relation to the sheet 18 and spaced therefrom for receiving the main body portion of the car 12 between the tab 24 and the sheet of material 18. The concave longitudinal edge 24 of the tab 20 encircles and engages the main body portion of the ear 12 substantially as shown in Figure 2 wherein the action of the tab 2t} engaging the main body portion of the ear 12 and terminating between the main body portion of the ear 12 and the head 14 will securely retain the ear protector 10 on the ear with the main sheet 18 covering the ear and protecting the car from contact with the hot air used in drying the hair.

In the specific embodiment as illustrated, the main body portion is substantially circular and the score line represents a flattened edge thereof. However, it will be understood that the device may be constructed of any suitable shape such as semi-circular or elliptical and the tab dimensions may be altered to fit the various needs of a beautician. The ear protector 10 may be constructed of cellular fibrous material or other suitable fluffed materials wherein the product would consist of multiple layers or thicknesses of the material and the cost would be retained at a minimum, thereby making the re-use of the device economically impractical, thereby enhancing the sanitary conditions employed in a beauticians salon. In operation, the main sheet 18 is placed over the ear 12 and the tab 20 is bent to a parallel and spaced position substantially shown in Figure 4 wherein the sheet 18 is retained on the ear 12. The tab 20 will be bent in one way for the left ear and in the other direction for the right ear thereby forming a device that is universally adaptable for either ear and various sized and shaped ears.-

From the foregoing, the construction and operation of the device will be readily understood and further explanation is believed to be unnecessary. However, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

An ear protector constructed of cellular fibrous material comprising a generally circular main body portion in the form of a fiat sheet of material having a peripheral edge, said main body portion adapted to overlie and completely cover the outer surface of the ear of a wearer, an elongated tab integrally formed on a portion of the peripheral edge of the body portion, and a fold line at the juncture of the tab and main body portion, said tab being disposed in spaced parallel relation to the main 3 body portion and having a free end terminating adjacent a portion of the peripheral edge of the main body portion generally in diametn'c opposition to the fold line, said tab being generally curved in offset relation to the center of the main body portion and provided with a concavely curved edge facing the center of the main body portion and spaced therefrom, the free end of the curved edge of the tab extending toward a diametric line from the center of the fold line whereby the curved edge of the tab is adapted to partially encircle the outer surface of the concha portion of the ear between the head and the helix of the ear of a person, said free end of the curved edge of the tab adapted to extend between the lobe of the References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,086,346 Zaretsky July 6, 1937 2,319,656 Berg May 18, 1943 2,367,459 Corley Jan. 16, 1945 2,700,162 Fuller Jan. 25, 1955 

